Data centers

Data centers prohibited townwide: Ordinance #2599

Ord. #2599 defines data centers, including cryptocurrency mining, and lists them as prohibited in every zone, removing "data processing centers" from the uses allowed in the E-1 to E-5 office zones. The Committee introduced it 5-0 on May 26, 2026 and adopted it, as amended, 4-0 on June 23.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

Adopted June 23, 2026 Last moved

What it does. Ord. #2599 amends the township’s land-development code to define data centers (buildings used mainly to store, process, route or host digital data, including colocation and cloud facilities, server farms, cryptocurrency mining and wholesale digital infrastructure) and to list them as prohibited in all zones. It replaces “data processing centers” with “(Reserved)” in the permitted uses of the E-1 to E-5 office zones. Server rooms that serve a building’s own occupant are not data centers, nor are small accessory data facilities of banks, utilities, hospitals, schools and government that stay under set size and power limits.

The votes.

  • May 26, 2026: introduced, 5-0 (Asay, Hodges, McNally, Tompkins, Duarte McCarthy), and referred to the Planning Board.
  • June 16, 2026: the Planning Board found it not inconsistent with the 2023 Master Plan and recommended moving its definitions into § 21-3, 9-0.
  • June 23, 2026: the Committee amended it to include the Board’s recommendation and adopted it, 4-0 (Asay, Hodges, Tompkins, Duarte McCarthy). The minutes record McNally as absent that night, though they list him on the amendment’s roll call (5-0).

Who spoke. One speaker at the hearing: Warren Township Committeeman Daniel Croson, in support. Patch reported Mayor Ana Duarte McCarthy’s reasons, including noise and vibration from transformers, windowless industrial buildings and sewer flows.

Where it stands. The ordinance is in effect. Changing it would take a new ordinance, with a Planning Board review and a public hearing. No data-center application appears in the board minutes LocalWhy reviewed. The explainer has the details. Corrections can be emailed to info@localwhy.org.

The data-center ban, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Resolved Committee introduces Ord. #2599 to prohibit data centers in all zonesIntroduced 5-0 (Asay, Hodges, McNally, Tompkins, Duarte McCarthy) and referred to the Planning Board, with a public hearing set for June 23, 2026. The notice with the full text was posted May 27.
  2. Resolved Planning Board finds the data-center ban not inconsistent with the Master PlanBoard planner Allison Fahey found Ord. #2599 not inconsistent with the 2023 Master Plan; the Board also recommended moving all definition text into § 21-3. Motion carried 9-0, Agarwal ineligible.
  3. Resolved Data centers prohibited in every zone as Ord. #2599 is adopted, 4-0The Committee amended the ordinance to include the Planning Board's recommendation and adopted it (4-0: Asay, Hodges, Tompkins, Duarte McCarthy). One speaker, Warren Township Committeeman Daniel Croson, spoke in support.

Explainers

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Meetings

  • Township Committee — June 23, 2026

    With McNally absent, the Committee adopted Ordinance #2599, as amended with the Planning Board's recommendations, prohibiting data centers in all zones, and #2598, a new construction fee schedule, both 4-0. It certified the 2025 audit, extended Ridge Oak's tax abatement 40 years, awarded Pleasant Valley Park court improvements and introduced salary Ordinance #2601. Thirteen entries naming 15 people commented on the former Lord Stirling School property.

  • Planning Board — June 16, 2026

    The Board found Ordinance #2599, which revises the uses allowed in the E-1 to E-5 office zones and lists data centers as prohibited in all districts, not inconsistent with the 2023 Master Plan, 9-0, recommending that its definitions move to the code's definitions section. It deemed Amzak Basking Ridge's amended site plan (PB26-002) complete, 9-0, with the hearing set for August 18.

  • Township Committee — May 26, 2026

    The Committee introduced Ordinance #2599, amending the uses permitted in the E-1 to E-5 office zones, and referred it to the Planning Board, with a hearing set for June 23; it became the township's data center ban. It tabled the construction fee ordinance (#2598) to fix a typographical error, accepted a $72,394.53 Clean Communities grant and let the Farmstead's Friends apply for a county preservation grant, all 5-0. Two people spoke.

Sources for this overview

  1. Township Committee minutes, May 26, 2026 (Ord. #2599 introduced)
  2. Planning Board minutes, June 16, 2026 (consistency review)
  3. Township Committee minutes, June 23, 2026 (hearing, amendment and adoption; full text)
  4. Notice of introduction of Ord. #2599, May 27, 2026
  5. Notice of adoption of Ord. #2599, June 24, 2026
  6. Patch, June 25, 2026: "Data Centers Banned In Bernards Township After Committee Vote"
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